acoustic guitar with sm57??

R

Randy5235

New member
I'm sure i know thew answer to this already but here goes(sometimes nice to hear from someone else :) ) i've been trying to record my acoustic guitar with my 57 (its really all i have at the moment) the output on this mic is really low it works great on drums or micing a cabinet or even ok on vocals (not very flattering though)... I have to crank my pre's up to the point of noise (almost all the way up) to get any kind of decent level. Am i doing something wrong here or should I jsut bite the bullet and get a condenser?? I assume that is the answer i'll get . the stuff i'm trying to record is mostly fingerpicked and not that loud. I've also discored that in order to get any kind of level on this I have to practically eat this mic with my soundhole which of course then induces proximity (mud all over the place) and it picks up fingernoise pretty badly as well. I guess I should head on down and get me a condenser?
 
I've tried it before and the basic conclusion is that the SM57 sucks for acoustic guitar. It was very quiet until I got too close to the mic and my fretboard touched it.

I'm thinking about getting a condenser for acoustic also. Right now I DI with an avalon U5, but I might do a DI/Mic mix. Condensors I'm considering are much cheaper than my avalon... the MXL 603 and the Studio Projects B1. I'm gonna get a pair of MXLs anyway for drum overheads, so I'm gonna try those out first.

If you're budget concious like me, you should consider those two because they are both under $100 and get rave reviews from other members on this board. There are a couple others too... the Octava 012 comes to mind.
 
anyone else have input for good accoustic mics as well?
I too have been using my 57 for trying to mic my accoustic and am just not satisfied. Yes, great for cabs, accoustic not at all really.
 
Last edited:
i like the 57 on acoustic. and using a really good preamp with the 57 makes it even better.

personally, i never worry too much about noise. i would rather have a record that was very noisy, but had nice tones, then the other way around.

but if you like bright, shimmery acoustic guitar tone, then the 57 is not for you. more dull and boxy sounding. mmmmm. .. ... dull and boxy... love it. ev re15 i like a lot too. sort of interesting lo fi sound...
 
eeldip said:
but if you like bright, shimmery acoustic guitar tone, then the 57 is not for you. more dull and boxy sounding. mmmmm. .. ... dull and boxy... love it. ev re15 i like a lot too. sort of interesting lo fi sound...
Click to expand...

I'd agree with that. I often want to get more of a thumpy, percussive sound out of an acoustic than a shimmery rich sound. In that case, a dynamic mic is often just the ticket.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top